September 27, 2006

My goal for today was to have a light grasp on my instrument and not make my patient bleed. I did pretty well at keeping a light grasp, but we did probing today, and I made my patient bleed a couple of times. We practiced probing on the typodonts first, and then we got together with a partner and practiced on each other. I think the thing that I need to work on the most with probing is keeping the probe adapted to the tooth correctly. I passed off my mirror and fulcrum PE today! My goal for next time is to keep my instrument adapted correctly to the teeth.

September 25, 2006

My goal for today was to practice holding my instrument correctly, especially the explorer. I am getting better at the modified pen grasp and having a light grip on the instrument, but I also still have some room for improvement. Today, we pracitced exploring again on the typodonts and then practiced on a person. I am feeling a little more comfortable with it, but I wish we had more time to practice. We also got our health history PE today, but I will have to turn it in tomorrow because I didn't finish it in clinic. My goal for next time is to keep a light grasp on the instrument and not make my patient bleed.

September 20, 2006

My goal for today was to take vitals on my patient faster. I am feeling more comfortable taking vitals and I am definitely getting quicker. Today in clinic we first practiced exploring on the dexters and then we got to practice on each other. My partner was Shaniel, and she only poked me a few times. I think my gums were only bleeding in a two spots. I passed off my vitals PE and my extra-oral exam PE. My goal for next time is to work on holding the instruments correctly, especially the explorer.

September 18, 2006

My goal for today was to do an intraoral exam. The demonstration was done on me, and then we got to practice on two different people. I completed an extraoral and intraoral exam and took vitals on two people. I am getting faster at setting up and cleaning up my unit. My goal for next time is to get faster at filling out the treatment record and get faster at taking vitals.

September 13, 2006

My goal for today was to work on my indirect vision. I got to practice my indirect vision for a few minutes and I am feeling much more comfortable with it. We also practiced doing extraoral examinations and using a fulcrum. The funniest part of the day was when I fell asleep while my partner was practicing chair positions on me! I will try to keep my eyes open next time. My goal for next time is to do an intraoral examination.

September 11, 2006

I set up my unit faster today, and I passed off my unit set-up PE. My goal for today was to take vitals on three people correctly. I took vitals on the three other people in my pod after a quick instruction. After looking at the vitals that the other people in my pod took, I think the vitals that I took were accurate. We also practiced chair positioning again, and I passed off my chair positions PE. My goal for next time is to practice indirect vision.

September 6, 2006

My goal for today was to complete a health history form. I accomplished my goal for today, but I never knew there was so much paper work to do for each patient. Today, we went over how to fill out health history forms, and then practiced chair positions again. I am feeling much more comfortable with the chair positions. My goal for next time is to set up my unit faster.